Lorne

The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live

De: Susan Morrison

Narrado por: Kristen DiMercurio, Susan Morrison

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive biography of Lorne Michaels, the man behind America’s most beloved comedy show

“The kind of biographical monument usually consecrated to founding fathers, canonical authors and world-historical scientific geniuses.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)

“Readers are treated to the Holy Grail for any journalist hoping to crack the show: a warts-and-all week in the life of SNL, where Morrison gets to see the real process of putting the thing together.”—Variety

Over the fifty years that Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of Saturday Night Live, he has become a revered and inimitable presence in the entertainment world. He’s a tastemaker, a mogul, a withholding father figure, a genius spotter of talent, a shrewd businessman, a name-dropper, a raconteur, the inspiration for Dr. Evil, the winner of more than a hundred Emmys—and, essentially, a mystery. Generations of writers and performers have spent their lives trying to figure him out, by turns demonizing and lionizing him. He’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Tracy Morgan), the “great and powerful Oz” (Kate McKinnon), “some kind of very distant, strange comedy god” (Bob Odenkirk).

Lorne will introduce you to him, in full, for the first time. With unprecedented access to Michaels and the entire SNL apparatus, Susan Morrison takes listeners behind the curtain for the lively, up-and-down, definitive story of how Michaels created and maintained the institution that changed comedy forever.

Drawn from hundreds of interviews—with Michaels, his friends, and SNL’s iconic stars and writers, from Will Ferrell to Tina Fey to John Mulaney to Chris Rock to Dan Aykroyd—Lorne is a deeply reported, wildly entertaining account of a man singularly obsessed with the show that would define his life and have a profound impact on American culture.

©2025 Susan Morrison (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Beautifully written—a model of research, narrative structure, concision and observation . . . a dense, entertaining read that marvels at an invisible yet hugely influential career while never stooping to valorize it . . . If you take nothing else from Lorne, it’s that Lorne Michaels is Saturday Night Live.”—The Washington Post

“A towering achievement, the definitive portrait of a cunning and creative genius responsible for cultivating a half-century of comedy’s biggest stars.”—The Toronto Star

“A biography that’s both enlightening and entertaining . . . The detail that unfurls in the book’s 600 pages is a testament to [Morrison’s] commitment to her task and the depth of her research.”—BookReporter

An entertainment legend

a very rich story of the history of snl and how it all came to be and continually survived and thrived..

Hard to listen to the narrator

I was so looking forward to listening to the whole book, but the narration is so distracting that I can't get through it. I skipped ahead to the first five years of SNL and that's all I could do. I thought I might get used to her delivery. But doing "male" voice for all men is so ridiculous. It's like she's reading a bedtime story to a child. I agree with another review that this is a great example of how an excellent book is ruined by a bad audio reading. And the reader’s imitation of Lorne’s voice is so bad it is very distracting. And the quick 'catch breath' she does every single time after she does the bad imitation of Lorne and then "Michaels__said." Normal people don't talk that way. We get that his last name ends in an "s" and the word "said" starts with the same letter. Oy.
On to the next book.

Loved the book almost couldn’t listen to the narrator tho…

Loved the book! Wanted it to go on and on. I always wish the author would narrate their own books! This narrator shouldn’t have attempted to do Lorne’s voice.. it’s really bad and it’s consistent throughout the story so you hear it over and over… I almost returned the book, cause like, so many people do an amazing impersonation of Lorne it’s hard to hear this one! Don’t mean to be mean but it’s my honest opinion ❤️

It leaves you feeling like you’re in on the secret…

GREAT BOOK!!! Your heart shines through in your writing! I loved it so much! It truly makes you feel like you alone are in on the secret that makes the show keep going after all these years!
I had the pleasure of watching last night’s show (March 7, 2025) after devouring the book…it sure made the show hit different! Thank you!can’t imagine the time you poured into this masterpiece!

Reality at its finest

learning about Lorne Michaels' past and how it impacted the evolution of SNL was an amazing ride through history. also facing the realities of TV entertainment was enlightening to a lay person. I knew it was not easy to accomplish this weekly live feat, so it came as no surprise when this was confirmed. overall I enjoyed this biographical story of a very determined man to achieve his goals.

Good inter-stitching of 50 years of history with 1 week of current production. I

The narrator trying to do a Lorne impression was a little off putting, but it happened so frequently, it starts to blend.

Great read but several weird mispronunciations

If you're a longtime SNL fan, this book is like gorging on candy and I can't recommend it highly enough. One strange quibble: I wonder if anyone listened to the audiobook before it was published? There are several mispronunciations that stopped me cold: Eddie (instead of Edie) Gorme, Jan (instead of Jann, pronounced Yon) Wenner, En-SIGN (instead of Ensign) Pulver, to say nothing of the mangled Yiddish words mo-hell (instead of "mohel") and ki-bite-zing (instead of kibitzing). In a book overflowing with famous names, how did a proof-listener not catch these obvious flubs?

The Man Behind SNL’s Secret Sauce

For half a century Saturday Night Live has been among the best known American TV shows but its forever producer Lorne Michaels has remained not nearly as well known as the many stars he has invented. There have been many books about the show and its stars but until now none have captured Michaels as Susan Morrison and her fellow collaborators. They are the first to really explore haw he went from Lorne DavidLipowitz to the longest lasting smartest producer in candy and TV. Since growing too big for Canada’s radio and tv industry and breaking out as a writer in the 60s on Laugh In, Michael’s has shaped not only tv but also comedy and American culture. That includes late night Tv, music, comedy and politics. This book about a fascinating character is a must read if you want to know how he won a ton of awards, raised several generations of stars, and a major voice in politics while remaining almost anonymous. Even now in his 80s he remains the most fascinating watchable kid on the block. It is well worth a listen.

Alive and Well

I love the story. Much has been well documented elsewhere. But the more personal material was very worth the read.

I thought the reader was AI many times. I can’t believe the number of simple words and familiar names she mispronounced, to say nothing of the popular catchphrases that she was clearly unfamiliar with. It didn’t ruin the experience, but was annoying.

the man who would be king of late night tv

A well researched look into the man who created SNL, this is not a puff piece. I enjoyed this.